These are, in essence, the deep fault lines that define the ugly occupation in Kashmir. To book 67 Kashmiri students simply for cheering on their favourite cricket team under a serious charge like sedition (section 124A: Punished with imprisonment for life) clearly goes on to demonstrate India’s insecurity vis-à-vis Kashmir. Fisticuffs between a bunch of students as part of sports rivalry is age-old and understandable. For the university to throw all Kashmiri students out (some of whom would not even be cricket fans, like me) thereby jeopardising their careers and now for the state to come down so hard on them is a new low altogether, even by Indian standards. Ive scores of Indian friends who are fans of Manchester United. You dont call them seditious for supporting the Empire that did the Jallianwala Bagh, for instance. When Indian expats (British passport holders, mind you) cheer on the boys in blue against England in England, no one objects. Attempting to instill the fear of God in a 20-something cricket fan by asking him to stop loving his sporting hero is an insult to both -- the elegance of game and the idea of freewill. It is like democracy doing some tribal waltz through the unswept alleys of Meerut.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 08:41:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015